Friday, 29 March 2013

Confirmation that the Video FX department of 'The Mill''s closure came from Director Douglas Mackinnon late last night. The Mill have produced some wonderful Video FX over the years for great shows such asMerlin, Sherlock, TorchwoodandDoctor Who. The Mill CEORobin Shenfield saidthat Mill TV, which had successfully built itself a reputation for vfx on shows such as Doctor Who and Merlin, "had weathered losses in 2012 and those losses had accelerated in the first quarter of 2013."The facility will now focus primarily on its commercials business.The department had suffered a number of setbacks such as failing to join the roster on Starz/BBC production of DaVinci’s Demons and the cancellation of Sky’s Sinbad sequel.“While TV vfx have been less volatile than film – last year the US studios spent far less than they did in 2011– TV also seems to have caught the bug and there have been less of those high end commissions and repeat series.”

The most recent issue of Radio Times has revealed all of the final titles for the episodes from Series 7B, all except the final episode, whichMoffathas said he wants to "keep secret a little longer...". The titles are as follows:

Originally transmitted in 4 episodes on BBC1 between 28th December 1968 and 18th January 1969,The Krotons starred Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor. The soundtrack (or "special sounds") were created by Brian Hodgson and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, who said:

For this story I mainly used the “Crystal Palace”, so called because its case was made of clear Perspex which exposed its workings. This machine, created by our engineer Dave Young, could mechanically sample 16 inputs and combine them into a single output in 4 prearranged patterns. The progression of the patterns was deliberately slow to create textures of sound. I was very much interested in exploring changing aural textures in tracks such as “The Learning Hall” and “Kroton Theme”.

Generating and manipulating music and sound effects defines sound design, a process that is common on TV and film productions nowadays. However The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was way ahead of the game in the 1960s. Brian Hodgson was a member of the Workshop working closely with the seminal figure of Delia Derbyshire. As the original sound effects creator for Doctor Who he was responsible for the chilling Dalek voices and the powerhouse sound of the Tardis lifting off (created by running a back door key for his mother's house along the bass string of a gutted piano and treating it electronically). His highly innovative techniques are fully on display on this collection of 'special sounds' that provided the background to Doctor Who - The Krotons.

Track Listing:

Doctor Who (New Opening Theme, 1967)

The Learning Hall

Door Opens

Entry Into The Machine

TARDIS (New Landing)

Wasteland Atmosphere

Machine And City Theme

Machine Exterior

Panels Open

Dispersal Unit

Sting

Selris' House

Machine Interior

Snake Bleeps Low

Silver Hose (The Snake)

Snake Bleeps High

Teaching Machine Hums

Forcefield

Burning Light

Birth Of A Kroton

Kroton Theme

Kroton Dies

Link – Rising Hum

Kroton Dies – (Alternative)

The soundtrack is due to be released on the13th May 2013on CD and download, and will also be released as a limited edition 10" Vinyl disc on the24th May.

Classic-era companion actorsCarole Anne FordandFrazer Hineswill be joiningGraham Nortonon hisBBC Radio 2 showonSaturday 6th April.They will be talking about theDestiny of the DoctorCDs, and radio show producerMalcolm PrincetoldDoctor Who Newsthat the actors will be the first of many Doctor Who-related guests on Norton's radio programme this year to mark Doctor Who's 50th anniversary.Destiny of the Doctoris a year-long series of new audio dramas from BBC AudioGo being produced by Big Finish as part of the anniversary celebrations. Each Doctor will have his own story in the run-up to the anniversary itself in November.In the AudioGo dramas, Hines, who played Jamie McCrimmon alongside the Second Doctor, stars inShadow of Death, which was released last month, while Ford, who portrayed the Doctor's granddaughter Susan, is inHunters of Earth, released in January.Questions to the duo can be submitted viagraham.norton@bbc.co.ukThe show runs from10am to 1pmand they are scheduled to be on air at11.30am, but please note that running orders are subject to change.A clip of the interview will be posted on the radio show's site afterwards, along with the weekly podcast.

Interviews

ITV's entertainment correspondent Richard Arnold spoke to Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman on this morning's Daybreak, chatting about the return of the series, the character relationships, and what might happen in the 50th Anniversary:

Jenna-Louse spoke about the relationship between the two: "Clara has kind of been billed as the impossible woman to the Doctor because she's this unsolved mystery that he doesn't understand, and a woman twice dead. There's kind of a lot going on between the two of them, he's trying to figure her out, she doesn't quite know him, so there's a lot going on." Matt responded to the description of the TARDIS as "the snog box": "(It) gives him a fright and irritates him hugely I think because the idea of snogging in it is just redundant." And on romance: Perhaps, you'll have to wait and see - god knows how he'd react to romance, the Doctor - or my Doctor, anyway!"

When asked about the Doctor's greatest secret, which Steven Moffat promises to reveal in the series finale, Jenna-Louise only said: "It's huge finale episode, it's a great build up into the 50th. It's a homage to the last 50 years, it's pretty epic."

Speaking about the 50th Anniversary special, Matt said: "It's a thrill and a privilege, and I think it's going to be the biggest and best year and the most momentous occasion - we hope - in the show's history. I've read the script and it balances looking back and forward in a glorious way. I've become a fan of the show, in the same way as when you watch it there's that, and there's that, and there's this and there's that." However, Matt wouldn't be drawn on the appearance of past Doctors though!

The interviews can be watched in the UK via the ITV Player until the 3rd April (last segment of the show).

The screening will be in 3D, and will be followed by a Q&A with both Kamiyama and the film's producer Tomohiko Ishii. (Details of the film below the trailer.)

On its facebook page, Anime Limited said, "If you attended the mystery screening at the GYFF in February then please message us here and we'll sort you out with a complementary ticket!" (The film was planned to be the mystery screening, but it was cancelled at the last minute.)

BBC Americawill broadcast the next in theirDoctor Who Revisitedseries on the31st March, covering the Third Doctor's era.

BBC AMERICA celebrates the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, in a new special of Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited. Lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, executive producer Caroline Skinner, Tenth Doctor David Tennant, Season Six guest star Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), among others, discuss how the third Doctor brought action and stunts to the series.

It is followed by the classic storyline Spearhead from Space. In the story, a swarm of meteorites fall on the sleepy English countryside, bringing with them a terrible new threat to mankind: the Nestene consciousness - a disembodied alien intelligence with an affinity for plastic. The Doctor is forced to race against time, in order to stop humanity from being replaced by a generation of terrifying plastic replicas.

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

We are pleased to finally announce that we will begin the new season of Doctor Who on Prime on Thursday 11 April at 8.30pm!!

Prime is promoting the story as follows:

This is it, the 50th anniversary year! Join the Doctor in all new episodes as he sets out to solve the mystery of new companion Clara. Expect explosions, aliens and running, lots of running!

The episode will be screened 12 days after its UK debut. This is the same delay that New Zealand viewers experienced with last year's series of five episodes. Prime has only once screened a Doctor Who episode sooner than this: The Snowmen was broadcast on 26 December 2012, less than one day after the UK.

Today sees special Royal Mail stamps going on sale to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Each of the 11 TV Doctors is represented on his own first-class stamp (60p), as is the TARDIS, while four enemies – Dalek, Cyberman, Ood, and a Weeping Angel – feature on second-class stamps (50p). The enemies and TARDIS are on a five-stamp miniature sheet, while the stamp design for the Doctors sees the face of each one set against relevant opening title sequences along with a relevant logo. Since the first two Doctors' eras were broadcast in monochrome, the first two stamps are also black and white.

As well as the stamps - which are being sold at more than 9,000 Post Office branches in the UK, online, and via phone (08457 641 641) - a wide variety of associated products is also available, ranging from first-day covers and postcards to stamp sets and stamp strips plus a pin badge of the TARDIS stamp. Some of the items on sale include series information penned by Doctor Who writer, director, and script editor Gary Russell.

Royal Mail - which said it had had an unprecedented number of pre-registrations for the stamps since they were unveiled in December - is also creating unique postmarks in the home towns of the actors to have played the 11 TV Doctors. All stamped mail sent from those locations will have a special postmark celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who, with the name of the actor who played the Doctor plus the length of time they were in the role.

Andrew Hammond, the managing director of the stamps and collectibles division at Royal Mail, said:

Following our launch announcement last year, we've had a fantastic response from the public who seemingly can't wait for the stamps. This shows just how much we all love Doctor Who.

The time has come and we are delighted that the stamps are now on sale, meaning fans of all ages can send their letters with one of their favourite Doctors on. This is a fitting tribute to this remarkable 50th anniversary and we hope our stamps will enable people across the UK to feel part of the celebrations of such a national treasure.

With the second part to the latest Doctor Who series out on Saturday, these stamps are the perfect way to mark this as well as the 50th anniversary. With all the Doctors to date featured in the set, these stamps showcase the fantastic actors who have played the Time Lord over the last 50 years.

Royal Mail's Special Stamp programme has been commemorating and celebrating events and anniversaries relevant to UK heritage and life for nearly 50 years itself. All UK stamp designs are approved by the Queen before they are printed.

Speeches in praise of the show and the stamps were given by Moya Greene, Royal Mail's chief executive, and Steven Moffat. The showrunner also introduced a video message from Matt Smith, as the actor had been unable to make it to the function, plus an extended trailer for Series 7b.

Props made by the officially-licensed company Rubbertoe Replicas were on show, as were displays of the stamps, with Daleks and a police box also adding to the atmosphere.

Competition to follow:

Doctor Who News will shortly be running a competition connected with the release of the stamps and there's a fabulous prize to be won, courtesy of Royal Mail, so keep checking back for details!

The eighth in our series of features looking at events leading to the creation of a true TV legend. The story so far: Sydney Newman, the new Head of Television Drama at the BBC has asked the Script Department to come up with ideas for a new science-fiction series that would not not only bridge the gap on Saturday evenings between Grandstand and the pop music show Juke Box Jury but also appeal to both audiences.

It was on 26th March 1963 - exactly 50 years ago today - that four people convened in an office in Television Centre to lay down the ground rules for the series that would develop, eight months later, into Doctor Who

Donald Wilson chaired the meeting in his role as Head of the Script Department, and it took as its starting point the reports on science-fiction compiled the previous year by the Survey Group, whose authors, John Braybon and Alice Frick, were present. They were joined by a fourth member of the script department, Cecil Edwin Webber.

Better known by the nickname "Bunny", Cecil Webber was an established playwright with credits on the stage and screen. His published stage plays had included Be Good, Sweet Maid in 1957 and Out of the Frying Pan in 1960, while for television he had written the 1961 action-adventure serial Hurricane and in 1962 the children's comedy William, which starred Dennis Waterman in one of his earliest roles and was adapted from some of the Just William books by Richmal Crompton.

The meeting set out to lay down some ground rules for the series, with discussions ranging from the practical to the esoteric and with concepts such as the nature of energy and the persistence of human thought being debated. Many ideas were put forward, with all agreeing that around seven or eight ideas would be needed to make enough stories to fill a 52-week series.

Some discussion was held over the type of craft to be used in the series. As detailed in a subsequent report by Frick, Wilson thought that if a time machine was used it should be able to travel not only backwards and forwards in time but also into all kinds of matter such as a drop of oil or under the sea. Meanwhile, Frick thought it might be more modern to feature a flying saucer carrying the regular cast of characters from story to story. Wilson was anxious to avoid the use of a computer as this was the main plot device in the BBC's Andromeda TV series of 1961 and 1962. Braybon wanted the series set in the future and suggested it featured a set of scientific trouble-shooters. It was also thought that the series should feature telepathy as a good plot device.

Wilson was keen that the series should feature a regular cast of characters. He felt this was important to build audience loyalty and said that two young teenagers should be included in the team, given the time slot the series would be aimed at. Frick felt that children of school age were more interested in characters older than themselves and suggested someone in their early-20s, something with which Webber and Brayborn agreed.

The meeting ended with Frick tasked with making a report and Webber commissioned to write up a list of viable characters for the series, based on the discussion, and an outline set-up.

The concept Webber came up with and documented in a memo just three days later was for a series set around "The Troubleshooters", a group of three scientists who tackle problems that no-one else could handle. The drama would have three main characters to lead viewers through a series of stories each running for around 7 weeks. Although the series finally produced would be very different in style and concept to this first draft, the genesis of the character of The Doctor can clearly be seen in the outline for the Troubleshooters and in particular in the character of the third lead.

Memo from C.E. Webber to Donald Wilson. 29th March 1963

Characters and Setup

Envisaged is a "loyalty programme", lasting at least 52 weeks, consisting of various dramatised S.F. stories, linked to form a continuous serial, using basically a few characters who continue through all the stories. Thus if each story were to run six or seven episodes there would be about eight stories needed to form fifty-two weeks of the overall serial.

Our basic setup with its loyalty characters must fulfil two conditions:-

It must attract and hold the audience.

It must be adaptable to any S.F. story, so that we do not have to reject stories because they fail to fit into our setup.

Suitable characters for the five o'clock Saturday audience.

Child characters do not command the interest of children older than themselves. Young heroines do not command the interest of boys. Young heroes do command the interest of girls. Therefore, the highest coverage amongst children and teenagers is got by:-

THE HANDSOME YOUNG MAN HERO (First character)A young heroine does not command the full interest of older women; our young hero has already got the boys and girls; therefore we can consider the older woman by providing:-

THE HANDSOME WELLDRESSED HEROINE AGED ABOUT 30 (Second character)Men are believed to form an important part of the 5 o'clock Saturday (post-Grandstand) audience. They will be interested in the young hero; and to catch them firmly we should add:-

THE MATURER MAN, 35 - 40, WITH SOME "CHARACTER" TWIST. (Third character)Nowadays, to satisfy grown women, father-figures are introduced into loyalty programmes at such a rate that TV begins to look like an Old People's Home: let us introduce them ad hoc, as our stories call for them. We shall have no child protoganists [sic], but child characters may be introduced ad hoc, because story requires it, not to interest children. What are our three chosen characters?The essence of S.F. is that the wonder or fairytale element shall be given a scientific or technical explanation. To do this there must be at least one character capable of giving the explanation, and I think that however we set up our serial, we must come around to at least one scientist as a basic character. I am now suggesting that all three be Scientists, though handsome and attractively normal people. Such vague cliches as Government Project, Secret Research, Industrial Atomics, Privately Financed Laboratory in Scotland, do not necessarily involve our group in every kind of S.F. story presented to us. Therefore I suggest that they are, all three,

THE PARTNERS IN A FIRM OF SCIENTIFIC CONSULTANTS.They are a kind of firm which does not exist at present, being an extension of today's industrial consultant into the scientific era. We are in a time which is not specified but which is felt to be just a bit ahead of the present; but the wonder is introduced into today's environment. The firm carry on normal lines of research in their own small laboratory, or in larger ones elsewhere if the job requires it; this is their bread and butter; but they are always willing to break off to follow some more unusual case. In fact, they have a reputation for tackling problems which no-one else could handle; there is almost a feeling of Sherlock Holmes about this side of their work. Our stories are the more unusual cases which come their way. This setup gives us fluidity for an everlasting serial. One, or two, of them can persue [sic] a story, leaving at least one behind to start on the next case when we need to transfer to another story. They are:-

"THE TROUBLESHOOTERS"Each of them is a specialist in certain fields, so that each can bring a different approach to any problem. But they are all acutely conscious of the social and human implications of any case, and if the two men sometimes become pure scientist and forget, the woman always reminds them that, finally, they are dealing with human beings. Their Headquarters or Base illustrates this dichotomy: it consists of two parts: 1. a small lab fitted with way-out equipment, including some wondrous things acquired in previous investigations and 2. an office for interviews, homely, fusty, comfortable, dustily elegant: it would not have been out of place in Holmes's Baker Street.

Villains.It would be possible to devise a permanent villain for the above "Troubleshooters" setup. Our heroes find themselves always coming up against him in various cases: the venal politician who seeks to use every situation to increase his own power; or the industrialist always opposing our heroes. Possibly some continuing villain may create himself as we go, but I suggest that we create ad hoc villains for each story, as needed. It is the Western setup in this respect: constant heroes, and a fresh villain each time.

Overall Meaning of the Serial.We shall have no trouble in finding stories. The postulates of S.F., from which its plots derive, can be broadly classified, even enumerated; and we all have additions or startling variations up our sleeves. But I think we might well consider if there is any necessary difference between the dramatic and the literary form, as regards S.F.

a. S.F. deliberately avoids character-in-depth. In S.F. the characters are almost interchangable. We must use fully conceived characters.

b. S.F. is deliberately unsexual; women are not really necessary to it. We must add feminine interest as a consequence of creating real characters.

c. Because of the above conditions, S.F. does not consider moral conflict. It has one clear overall meaning: that human beings in general are incapable of controlling the forces they set free. But once we have created real characters, we must consider the implications in terms of those characters in their society. Drama is about moral conflicts: it is about social relationships. Experienced S.F. writers may disagree with me. Well, let them create their own live S.F. drama. But for me, it seems a fine opprtunity to write fastmoving, shocking episodes, which necessarily consider, or at least firmly raise, such questions as: What sort of people do we want? What sort of conditions do we desire? What is life? What are we? Can society exist without love, without art, without lies, without sex? Can it afford to continue to exist with politicians? With scientists? And so on.

The final section mirrored the 1962 reports, which had emphasised that TV science-fiction ought to lean more towards being character-based than had been the case in literature, that it would need the addition of "feminine interest", and that philosophical or moral questions needed to be at least firmly raised if not considered.

The day after the meeting - on 27th March 1963 - a memo was sent by John Mair, the senior planning assistant responsible for allocating TV studio time, to Joanna Spicer, the Assistant Controller (Planning) Television, asking her for details about the planned new series.

Webber's memo was attached to Frick's report (as mentioned above), the latter of which read in full as follows:

The following devices were discussed:

1. Time Machine: Donald Wilson suggested if this were used, it should be a machine not only for going forward and backwards in time, but into space, and into all kinds of matter (e.g. a drop of oil, a molecule, under the ocean, etc.)

2. Flying Saucer: Alice Frick thought this might be a more modern vehicle than a time machine, much discussed at present, and with a considerable body of literature concerning it. It would have the advantage of conveying a group of people (i.e. the regular cast of characters).

3. Computer: Donald Wilson thought this should be avoided, since it was the Andromeda device.

4. Telepathy: This is an okay notion in modern science, and a good device for dealing with outer-space inhabitants who have appropriated human bodies (e.g. Three To Conquer by Eric Frank Russell).

5. John Braybon suggested that the series should be set in the future, and that a good device would be a world body of scientific trouble-shooters, established to keep scientific experiments under control for political or humanistic reasons.

Ideas:

A good many possible (and probably some impracticable!) ideas for themes and content were discussed, among them some published works - Guardians of Time by Poul Anderson and Three To Conquer by Russell.

Some recent scientific discoveries or developments whose uses are still not known nor explored were mentioned, e.g. the Laser Beam. We all thought that the use of seven or eight such "new" ideas, one for each short serial, could make a 52-week series.

Bunny Webber brought forward the idea of the continuance of thought; the idea that great scientists of the past might continue in some form of existence and could be contacted to discover further advances they had made, ideas they might bring to current discoveries, thought, etc.

Donald Wilson introduced a discussion of human creativity, the presence in the world of the human capacity to initiate original thought, to create new concepts, ideas, etc, the immeasurable and inexplicable work and productivity of genius. This led on to a discussion of energy, the difference between scientific energy, which can be measured, and human energy, which cannot.

Format:

Donald Wilson said that the series must be based on a group of regular characters, some of whom would be employed in major roles in one limited serial, others in the next, according to the needs of the different stories. He felt this was essential to establishing a loyalty audience. He suggested that, for the time-slot, two young teenagers should be included. Alice Frick advanced the opinion that children of that age were more interested in characters who are older than themselves, in the early twenties. Braybon and Webber supported this idea. Young children could be introduced occasionally, but should not be among the regulars.

The major problems in format are, how to involve a part of a permanent group in widely differing adventures, and how to transport them believably to entirely disparate milieux.

The following month would see Newman responding to Webber's memo and Frick's report, pushing the team more towards how he envisaged the series, and his annotations to the memo can be clearly seen.

Next week's Radio Times features the now traditional Doctor Who front cover to celebrate the return of the series to television this coming weekend.

Amidst several media reports of late about how long he'll remain with Doctor Who, Matt Smith told the Radio Times:

For ever! I came back and put the costume on for the photoshoot today. At the risk of sounding self-indulgent and cheesy, it really does make you want to go back and start shooting. I’m attached to the show for the next year and I take it year by year. I think that’s the only way you can take it.

Meanwhile, Jenna-Louise Coleman, playing his latest sidekick on the show, commented on what he's like to work with:

He demands sweets at certain times of the day and Diet Coke in his trailer.

The full interviews are in the new edition, along with a guide to the eight episodes that comprise this run provided by Steven Moffat, plus a free Monster wall chart.

Radio Times synopsis for The Bells of Saint John:

Radio Times Synopsis for The Bells of Saint John:Ever sat on a train, with a laptop, and watched all those wireless base stations appear and disappear on your screen? We live in a teeming ocean of wi-fi. The air is a soup of data, and don’t you ever worry that something else might be swimming along inside it? Well, if you haven’t worried so far, you might be about to start. Because here’s a gentle warning — sometimes you might see some strange alien symbols appear in your wi-fi menu. Don’t click on them. Just don’t click. Because that means there’s a Spoonhead really close.

The Doctor returns to contemporary London and finds himself meeting Clara Oswald for the third time — he’s been searching the universe for her, but will she even know who he is? There’s hardly time to worry about it, though, because all humanity is in terrible danger...